Australia's booming property market has helped Mortgage Choice write a record number of loans, and the lender says 2015 is looking like another strong year.
Low interest rates and property price growth of 10 per cent in the past year were fuelling activity in the housing market, creating a positive outlook for the home loan lender this financial year, chief financial officer Susan Mitchell said.
"There's no denying that the property market is booming," Ms Mitchell said on Thursday.
"Housing finance commitments are hovering at all-time highs as home buyers and investors are rushing in to take advantage of the growing property market and the historically low interest rates."
Mortgage Choice's net profit rose 5.8 per cent to $19.8 million in the year to June 30, up from $18.7 million in the same period a year earlier.
The gains were chiefly due to strong market conditions and a gain of $1.34 million on the sale of LoanKit, an aggregator of mortgages for brokers.
Mortgage Choice wrote $10.4 billion in loans in the year - its highest ever settlement figure - up 18.1 per cent.
An increase in settlements, however, meant an increase in the commissions the company paid to franchisees.
Mortgage Choice says it is well placed for further growth this year after increasing its number of franchises and loan writers and launching a new brand strategy.
It said its diversification into other financial services, such as financial planning and insurance, were going well.
Consumer confidence, however, hadn't fully recovered from its federal budget hit, unemployment in July reached a 12-year high, and property prices could pose a housing affordability challenge if they continued to rise, Ms Mitchell said.
On the plus side, use of mortgage brokers was growing, having risen six per cent last year, she said.
Property prices, auction clearance rates and housing finance commitments remained strong while interest rates remained at historical lows, although this was encouraging borrowers to pay off their mortgage sooner.
Some lenders had also increased the commissions they pay to Mortgage Choice, although brokers were not incentivised to recommend one product or another, she said.
MORTGAGE CHOICE BANKS ON HOUSING MARKET BOOM
* Net profit of $19.8m, up 5.8 pct from $18.7m in 2012/13
* Revenue of $181.46m, up 15.9 pct from $156.5m
* Final dividend of eight cents a share, up from seven cents
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